"U-110 and HMS Bulldog" May 9, 1941
Source: argunners.com
Capturing the Enigma
During WWII, U-Boats were sinking 80-110 Allied ships every month, severely limiting Allied resources. In 1941, U-Boat U-110 was attacked and a Naval Enigma machine with its code books and cipher keys was seized for the first time. In 1942, U-559 was captured and materials for the most advanced Enigma machine, Naval Enigma M4, were taken. These two events proved essential to breaking the Naval Enigma code, and this allowed the Allies to utilize communications from all branches of the German military.
"British intercept stations could listen in to these signals, but because they were encoded, they could not understand what was being said, the British capture of a string of German vessels – and their Enigma machines and codebooks – during the first seven months of 1941 changed all that. Using the items seized, Alan Turing and his fellow codebreakers were at long last able to work out how to read Germany’s naval Enigma messages."
-Hugh Sebag-Montifore, Journalist and Historian of WWII
"Sub-Lieutenant David Balm's boarding party prepares U-110 for towing while HMS Aubertia rescues survivors" May 9, 1941
Source: uboatarchive.net
"The only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril."
-Winston Churchill
"... the German Navy's experts came perilously close to the truth. They concluded that `the enemy' had probably got hold of the daily keys but they reiterated that Enigma could not be broken."
Ralph Erskine, author of Action This Day: Bletchley Park from the Breaking of the Enigma Code to the Birth of the Modern Computer
"The distinctive white donkey painted on the conning tower of the submarine made it easily identifiable as U-559. c. April 1940"
Source: ms.ac.uk
"A convoy of ships in the Bedford Basin" 1942
Source: halifaxtoday
Knowing the plans of the enemy is the main key to success in wartime. Knowing where the ships would be was incredibly helpful.
-Personal Interview with Bernd Von Kosta, Curator of the Allied Museum in Berlin
“I asked the First Sea Lord to wireless you today about the vital importance of intercepting surface ships bringing reinforcements, supplies and, above all, fuel to Benghazi. Our information here [Enigma decrypts] shows a number of vessels now approaching or starting. Request has been made by enemy for air protection, but this cannot be given owing to absorption in battle of his African air force. All this information has been repeated to you. I shall be glad to hear through Admiralty what action you propose to take. The stopping of these ships may save thousands of lives, apart from aiding a victory of cardinal importance.”
-Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Britain during WWII
British Bombe
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